FIFA gives U.S. President Donald Trump a peace prize in a departure from its traditional focus on sport

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump was awarded the new FIFA peace prize on Friday at the 2026 World Cup draw -- giving the spectacle to set matchups for the quadrennial soccer tournament even more of a Trumpian flair.

Trump, who had openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, had been heavily expected to receive the newly created FIFA prize. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a close ally of Trump, has said he thought Trump should have won the Nobel for his efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.

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In awarding the prize, Infantino told Trump it was a “beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere you want to go.” Trump promptly placed the medal around his neck. The certificate that Infantino handed Trump recognizes the U.S. president for his actions to “promote peace and unity around the world.”

Infantino also presented Trump with a gold trophy with his name on it that depicts hands holding up the world. “You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way,” said Infantino, who spoke after a video was played that showed images of Trump meeting with world leaders from countries whose conflicts he has taken credit for resolving.

Trump thanked his family, including his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and praised the leaders of the other two host nations -- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum -- in his brief remarks, saying the co-ordination with the countries has been “outstanding.”

“This is truly one of the great honours of my life,” Trump said, adding that “most important, I just want to thank everybody. The world is a safer place now.”

Infantino has often spoken about soccer as a unifier for the world, but the prize is a departure from the federation’s traditional focus on sport.

Infantino has been a frequent visitor to the Oval Office, including in November when the administration announced new efforts to expedite visa processing for World Cup visitors. Infantino had a prime seat at Trump’s January inauguration and FIFA has established an office at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

FIFA has given no details about the process for choosing a winner. When Infantino first announced last month that the organization would give out a peace prize, some of its senior officials were caught off guard, learning about it through reports in the media.

The FIFA president was also on hand Thursday at the newly renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, where Trump and the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo.

FIFA’s award to Trump came during a week in which his administration has been engaged in shuttle diplomacy to try to end the war in Ukraine, while also under scrutiny for lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and as Trump hardens his rhetoric against immigrants.

The Nobel for peace was awarded this year to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who said shortly after the prize was announced that she was dedicating it in part to Trump for “his decisive support of our cause.” Machado will receive the award at the traditional Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10.

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By Seung Min Kim

Associated Press sports reporter Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.